Without Title

Saru — monkey — is a subject with deep precedent in Japanese visual culture, from the satirical chōjū-giga handscrolls of the twelfth century to Hasegawa Tōhaku's ink-painted gibbons and the macaque studies of Mori Sosen. Takeda's untitled monkey print extends this lineage through mokuhanga technique. Without a title to direct reading, the work invites attention to its formal handling — the carved articulation of fur and limb, the registration of color blocks against the keyblock impression, and the relationship of the figure to the negative space of the washi sheet. The monkey carries layered iconographic associations in Japanese tradition: mischief and parody in the chōjū-giga, the messenger role of the Sannō cult at Hiei-zan, and an established place in zodiacal and proverbial imagery. The subject suits an artist whose career has moved between satirical cartoon, fine-art printmaking, and stage comedy, and whose visual practice consistently engages with figures of play and inversion.